Eastern Conference team acquires Connor Garland, here's the return
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Jonathan Ouimet
Mar 6, 2026 (0:45)
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Photo credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
Connor Garland is headed to the Columbus Blue Jackets and the NHL trade deadline drama just got real for the Vancouver Canucks.
Pierre LeBrun says Columbus is acquiring Garland in exchange for a second-round pick and a third-round pick.
For Vancouver, the timing screams urgency. The Canucks are sitting at 18-36-7 and every movable piece suddenly has a price tag.
For Columbus, it's a buyer move with intent. The Blue Jackets are 31-21-8 and they're trying to stack real scoring depth before the race tightens.
Here's the exact post that dropped the bomb.
Garland isn't a passenger-type winger. He's a puck hound who keeps shifts alive and can play up the lineup without begging for perfect conditions.
His contract situation is part of why the market stayed hot. He's finishing a deal with a $4.95 million cap hit, and his new six-year extension begins next season.
Connor Garland puts the Columbus Blue Jackets in win-now mode
Blue Jackets fans are going to feel that jolt, because this is the kind of deadline add that says the room is not waiting for «next year.»
The fit is clean on the ice. Columbus gets a top-six option who can drive a line, or stabilize a second unit when injuries start stealing minutes.
It's also a subtle Vancouver tell. If the Canucks were truly married to keeping Garland long-term, they don't let this get to the trade call stage.
The return, a second and a third, is the classic «useful winger» package. Not flashy, but it gives Vancouver ammo in a rebuild calendar that's already loud.
Columbus has been linked to Garland in the rumour mill for a while, so this doesn't feel like a random late-night pivot.
Now the cap chess starts. If Columbus squeezes this in clean, it opens the door for one more sneaky move, the kind contenders love when the deadline clock is blinking.
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